Bears Start Linebacker Overhaul With Underrated Nicholas Morrow

The Chicago Bears have a lot of work to do if they're going to successfully retool their defense from a 3-4 to a 4-3. No position will see greater changes than linebacker. Suddenly they have to go from just two off-the-ball types to three. As of early March 15th, they only had one viable starter in Roquan Smith. If GM Ryan Poles got his latest free agent move right, the Bears now have two with Nicholas Morrow. Casual fans probably don't know the name. Morrow played five seasons with the Raiders, working from undrafted free agent to starter by 2020. He had a very good season that year, collecting 78 tackles, three sacks, an interception, and nine passes defended in just 14 games. Unfortunately, an injury sidelined him for the entirety of the 2021 season. With a new coaching staff arriving, he quietly became a free agent.

Now he has a chance to pick up where he left off in Chicago.

If people are looking for a single game to help illustrate how good Morrow can be, they should watch the last one he played in. In the season finale of 2020 against the Denver Broncos, the young linebacker was everywhere. He finished with ten tackles, a tackle for loss, a QB hit, and a sack. His tackle of Melvin Gordon in the final minutes helped force a Broncos punt that led to Las Vegas' game-winning scoring drive. What makes Morrow such a remarkable story is his humble beginnings. He got to the NFL from Division III Greenville. That is about as low on the totem pole as a player gets. Yet he battled through everything to make the Raiders roster and became a starter. His mixture of speed and coverage prowess is a great fit for Matt Eberflus' Tampa-2 defense. An early assessment says he likely takes over the "Will" position on the outside. This would suggest Roquan Smith may end up staying in the middle.

The best part is Nicholas Morrow will likely be cheap

He is coming off an injury and only logged one season as a full-time starter. GM Ryan Poles likely liked what he saw on tape and was willing to give him a short-term deal to see if he could carve out a role in the new defense. One thing about Eberflus is he's never afraid of unheralded players. If they buy into his program, they tend to play good football. Take Anthony Walker, for example. He was an unknown 5th round pick from Northwestern when the coach arrived in Indianapolis.

The middle linebacker soon became highly productive in a short period.

Nicholas Morrow has a chance to do the same. The cheaper deal also mitigates the risk from his prior injury. There is no reason to think he isn't fully healed by now. If rehab went well, he should be ready for offseason activities next month. He might not be the splash signing some Bears fans were hoping for, but that doesn't mean he won't contribute. Morrow has already proven he can play. It is all about the coaching staff understanding how to use him.